Caleb’s POV
The door clicked shut behind me, and I leaned against it, exhaling slowly. The weight of what I’d done settled heavily on my chest, pressing down until it was hard to breathe.
Rejecting Ashley wasn’t something I’d ever imagined myself doing, but it felt necessary. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself. The truth was, I hadn’t meant a single word of it. Not really.
She needed to know that our bond wasn’t something to toy with, not when I could feel her heart still pulled toward Rolan. The knowledge that she had once wished for him to be her mate instead of me ate away at me.
It was like an invisible wound that refused to heal, constantly reopening every time I saw her look at him with longing in her eyes, even though he barely acknowledged her existence.
I knew I wasn’t enough for her, not yet. And that thought destroyed me.
Running a hand through my hair and pacing the small living room of my house. The bottle of vodka on the table gleamed under the dim light, half-empty.
I poured myself another glass, swallowing down the burn without tasting it. The silence in the room felt suffocating, wrapping around me like a thick fog. I should’ve felt relief after what I did, but all I felt was emptiness. I was a fool.
Suddenly, a sharp knock interrupted my thoughts. My head snapped toward the door, my senses flaring in surprise. No one visited me, especially not after what happened with Ashley.
Hesitating for a moment, I set the glass down and walked over to the door, my hand lingering on the doorknob before pulling it open.
To my surprise, it was Wilson, Ashley’s brother. The last person I expected to see.
“Wilson?” I blinked, taken aback by his presence. He looked just like I remembered, tall, broad-shouldered, with a stern face that rarely showed emotion. But tonight, something was different. He seemed… softer, almost nervous.
“Caleb,” he said, nodding slightly. “Can I come in?”
I hesitated. Part of me wanted to slam the door in his face, but the curiosity gnawing at me wouldn’t let me. I stepped aside, opening the door wider. “Yeah, sure.”
Wilson walked in, glancing around the room as if taking it all in. I gestured to the bottle of vodka on the table. “Drink?”
He nodded, and I poured him a glass. We sat across from each other in silence for a moment, the tension thick between us. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t just a casual visit.
Wilson was the first to break the silence.
“I want to apologize,” he started, his voice low. He stared into his glass, not meeting my eyes. “For Ashley. And my mother.”
I stiffened, the memory of that gunshot wound flaring up in my mind. I couldn’t forget how his mother had aimed that gun at me without a second thought. How she had almost killed me to protect her selfish interests.
“I’m glad you survived,” Wilson added quietly. “I… I don’t know what to say, other than I’m sorry. For all of it.”
I took a slow sip of my drink, trying to keep my emotions in check. The vodka did little to dull the sharp memories. “You don’t need to apologize for them, Wilson. They made their choices.”
“Maybe not,” Wilson said, finally meeting my gaze. His eyes were hard, but there was something genuine in them. “But Ashley’s still young. She’s been under our mother’s influence for too long, and she didn’t understand the weight of her actions until it was too late. She’s learned her lesson. It was a hard one, but she’s learned.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to process what he was saying. I wanted to believe him, wanted to believe that Ashley had finally woken up to what was in front of her.
But the image of her marching past me after the gunshot, like I was nothing, still stung deeply. It wasn’t something I could forget so easily.
“She may have learned,” I started slowly, “but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s been obsessed with Rolan for as long as I can remember. It’s not something you just get over. I need more time. I need to be sure she’s not still pining for someone who doesn’t even care about her.”
Wilson nodded, his expression unreadable. “I get that. I do. She’s my sister, and I want what’s best for her. But she’s not the same girl she was a few months ago. The bond you two have… it’s real, even if she hasn’t always acted like it.”
I scoffed bitterly, swirling the liquid in my glass. “Real? She rejected it the moment she realized I wasn’t the one she wanted.”
Wilson shook his head. “She’s been tied to our mother’s ambitions for too long. She thought Rolan was her way out, her way to something bigger. But she knows now, Caleb. She knows what she lost.” He paused for a moment, his jaw tightening. “She knows you’re what she needs.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” I muttered, finishing the last of my drink.
Wilson stood up, setting his empty glass on the table. “Take your time, Caleb. I’m not asking you to forgive her right away. But give her a chance to prove herself. She’s not the girl you knew before.”
I watched him as he headed toward the door, his words hanging heavy in the air. He was right, of course. She wasn’t the same girl. But was she someone I could trust now? That was the real question.
As Wilson reached for the door handle, something clicked in the back of my mind. I studied his profile, the way his jawline angled, the way his eyes seemed familiar in a way that gnawed at me. Something about him felt… off. Like I’d seen him before in a different light, in a different place.
“Wilson,” I called, making him pause before he stepped out. “You look familiar. Like I’ve seen you somewhere before.”
He turned back toward me, his face impassive. “Maybe you have,” he agreed, his tone flat. “But right now, I’m just Ashley’s brother.”
And with that, he was gone, leaving me with more questions than answers.